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RootMetrics has published its Mobile Network Performance Review for the second half of 2014, once again placing EE as the best in the UK. However with Three not far behind as second, followed by O2 and finally Vodafone, the testing specialist claimed all four operators are doing well.

UK telcos’ will grow by 11% in 2015, four times the expected 2.6% rate for the country’s GDP, a report by Barclays’ Technology, Media and Telecoms unit claimed. According to the report, things are looking even better for 2016 with respondents expecting annual growth to reach 13%.

Vodafone has reported its third quarter results with less decline than expected, with growth in the UK and steady recovery in its European operations. Across the entire group, the telco added 5.5 million net mobile customers in the three months ended in December.

Things are set to get a lot more difficult for all other UK telco and content players. The country’s dominant fixed line operator and its largest mobile operator have agreed on a price for the former to buy the latter, having first announced the potential move late last year. The combined operations will have a distinct advantage in the delivery of combined communications services, generally referred to as multiplay.

Dixons Carphone has announced it is entering the UK mobile market this spring with an MVNO service, which will run on 3’s network. The new business will also offer internet connectivity to smart devices sold in the retailer’s stores.

UK telco operator Ofcom has taken six weeks to complete the formality of implementing the geographical coverage commitment compromise achieved between the government and operators late last year. Ofcom has “varied the licenses” such that all four MNOs are committed to 90% geographical coverage for voice calls by the end of 2017.

BT’s CEO Gavin Patterson has announced the telco’s plans to upgrade its broadband network with a widespread deployment of G.fast technology, claiming this will take the UK from ‘superfast’ to ‘ultrafast’ broadband era.

Ofcom has announced it is putting in place a strategy to ensure the UK has a leading role in the development of the internet of things. The competition authority said by working together with the industry and government it wants to create a “regulatory environment” that promotes investment and innovation in the IoT space.

Following confirmation form both Hutchison Whampoa and Telefónica the two indeed are in official talks over the sale of Telefónica’s O2 to 3’s owner Hutchison, industry analysts have been quick to offer their views on how this proposed bid would affect the UK mobile market if approved. It seems it is a thorny issue.

Ofcom has launched a consultation seeking industry input on spectrum bands above 6GHz that might be suitable for 5G. The UK regulator said that while it is not yet known what exactly 5G will be, it wants to build an understanding of future spectrum needs.

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), an advisory organisation to the UK government, has announced that with EE, Virgin Media and Vodafone as the latest to join, all UK ISPs have now signed up to its Open Internet Code.

Ofcom has announced proposals to introduce new rules to force BT to maintain a minimum margin between its wholesale and retail fibre network charges. The move comes as BT is in talks with the owners of EE to acquire the UK’s largest mobile operator in a bid to become the dominant player in the entire UK telecoms market with a quad-play offering of fixed, mobile, broadband and TV services.

The UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced it has reached what it calls a “landmark” agreement with operators EE, O2, Vodafone and Three on how to tackle coverage issues in rural Britain. However, the agreement seems a far-cry from the original tough talk from the Culture Secretary Savid Javid.

A research study conducted by Taiwanese networking equipment vendor ZyXEL has claimed UK workers are among the least well-served when it comes to office wifi availability at European businesses. According to the report, ensuring employees can connect their own devices to office wifi is key to increasing productivity and job satisfaction.

Former UK telco monopoly BT has announced it has chosen the UK’s biggest mobile operator – EE – for exclusive acquisition talks, having previously conceded it was looking at O2 or EE. If the deal goes through BT would occupy a dominant position in the UK telco market as it already owns substantial fixed-line assets as well as a significant chuck of exclusive content and some 4G spectrum of its own.

Enterprise-focused operator Vodafone Americas has announced it is to launch an MVNO targeted at its multinational (MNC) customers either based in the US or with a strong presence in the country. The telco said the service, to be launched in the latter part of 2015, will be offered under an MVNO with the T-Mobile US.

BT has completed a submarine broadband cable project in Scotland, claiming it has been hailed as the most complex underwater engineering challenge ever undertaken by the telco. The installation included 250 miles of fibre optic cabling across 20 seabed crossings.

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